Hubs - balance between quality and cost

[Luegolover]

Hello,

I want to build a set of carbon wheels for my wife's TT bike. I can buy a set from China for a reasonably low amount of money but they tend to come with cheap hubs made by Novatec. I had a set of wheels for my bike in this configuration and they drove me round the round the bend. I ended up selling them then buying just the rims from China and a set of DT Swiss hubs and spokes which made a much better wheel. The thing is I am not the Bank of England at the moment and whilst I would love my wife to have a set of wheels with DT Swiss hubs I am not in the position to do it. Here is the problem: Where can I buy a set of hubs with low spoke counts that balance the quality with cost from?

My wife is a little thing so she won't need many spokes. I can buy affordable deep sections rims from China in any spoke count I require. I have built wheels that support my considerable weight and stay true. So all I need are the hubs but for the life of me I can't find any that are not eye-wateringly expensive or cheap and nasty looking. And help gratefully received. I should say that they will run a 11 speed Shimano cassette.

 

[GrumpyGregry]

what do the expensive hubs do that novatec hubs apparently don't? I'd go and talk to a professional wheelbuilder. Ask @ianrauk to remind us who is the best

 

[Citius]

Novatec hubs are pretty good - they make more than just one hub....

 

[Luegolover]

OK, well the set I had made an awful racket when free wheeling and the components started to rust/corrode within a months worth of use. The DT Swiss are silent, haven't shown any signs of ageing in a year and feel better engineered. I know the last point is subjective and vague. I also know they cost a lot more money so they should be better but I am hoping for something in-between thats better than my Novatec experience. It feels like every set of ready made wheels has a different set of hubs on them and some must be available separately and represent good value for money?

 

[jowwy]

Hello,

I want to build a set of carbon wheels for my wife's TT bike. I can buy a set from China for a reasonably low amount of money but they tend to come with cheap hubs made by Novatec. I had a set of wheels for my bike in this configuration and they drove me round the round the bend. I ended up selling them then buying just the rims from China and a set of DT Swiss hubs and spokes which made a much better wheel. The thing is I am not the Bank of England at the moment and whilst I would love my wife to have a set of wheels with DT Swiss hubs I am not in the position to do it. Here is the problem: Where can I buy a set of hubs with low spoke counts that balance the quality with cost from?

My wife is a little thing so she won't need many spokes. I can buy affordable deep sections rims from China in any spoke count I require. I have built wheels that support my considerable weight and stay true. So all I need are the hubs but for the life of me I can't find any that are not eye-wateringly expensive or cheap and nasty looking. And help gratefully received. I should say that they will run a 11 speed Shimano cassette.

I have 3 sets of wheels built with novatec hubs and they run as smooth as silk, with a nice ticking noise when i free wheel.......1 set is on the TT bike, 1set on the Ti build and 1 set on the synapse disc

 

[Hacienda71]

You could get some Hope hubs quality British hubs but their freewheel is even louder than Novatec some may not be your cup of tea.
My Novatec hubs are fine. Planet X and a few other well known retailers use unbranded Novatec hubs on their wheels.

 

[ayceejay]

Is this really about the sound of the hubs when freewheeling?

 

[Fab Foodie]

Is this really about the sound of the hubs when freewheeling?

Isn't that the most important bit?

 

[ayceejay]

You could be right FF. I wonder if manufacturers take this into account and are able to manipulate the sound or if one sound says good and another not so good?

 

[Luegolover]

Well I feel a little snobby on this but the sound is important to me. For a start a really loud noise when freewheeling kind of tells the world that my lardy arse is taking a breather. Additionally, the noise doesn't occur on expensive wheels so I do associate it with cheap and lower quality hubs.

I am intrigued to learn that Novatec sell unbranded hubs to wheel builders, that does makes sense. Maybe the wife will have to wait until I have saved enough for some DT Swiss hubs but as that is the best part of £300 - £400 she will be waiting a very long time. Surely there must be a quiet lower cost solution out there?

 

[Hacienda71]

I don't think there is any correlation between freehub noise and cost. You get expensive hubs that are like a football rattle and cheap Shimano they use on the R500 wheelset are very quiet. Why not look at Dura Ace hubs?

 

[jowwy]

Well I feel a little snobby on this but the sound is important to me. For a start a really loud noise when freewheeling kind of tells the world that my lardy arse is taking a breather. Additionally, the noise doesn't occur on expensive wheels so I do associate it with cheap and lower quality hubs.

I am intrigued to learn that Novatec sell unbranded hubs to wheel builders, that does makes sense. Maybe the wife will have to wait until I have saved enough for some DT Swiss hubs but as that is the best part of £300 - £400 she will be waiting a very long time. Surely there must be a quiet lower cost solution out there?

Then you have never ridden a set of zipp firecrest wheels then, which have a very loud clicking noise when freewheeling and are definately not at the cheap end of wheels